CLI reference

Table of contents

Synopsis 

awesome-md-to-pdf [inputDir] [options]

When inputDir is omitted the CLI drops into chat mode.

Options

Flag Description Default
-o, --output <dir> Output directory ./pdf
-r, --recursive Recurse into subdirectories false
-s, --single-file Merge all .md files into one PDF false
-m, --mode <mode> light or dark prompt
--design-light <path> Path to the light-mode DESIGN.md file or folder bundled Claude light
--design-dark <path> Path to the dark-mode DESIGN.md file or folder bundled Claude dark
--accent <hex> Override the brand accent (#rrggbb or rrggbb) design default
-f, --format <fmt> A4 / Letter / Legal A4
--toc Auto-generate a table of contents false
--cover Generate a cover page false
--page-numbers page X / Y band at the bottom (breaks full-bleed) false
--header <text> Custom top band (tokens: {file}, {title}, {date}) none
--footer <text> Custom bottom band none
--show-link-urls Print external URLs after link text false
--no-banner Suppress the welcome banner (CI-friendly) off
-c, --concurrency <n> Parallel conversions 3
-w, --watch Watch for changes and rebuild false
--open Open the output folder when done false
-V, --version Print the version and exit  
-h, --help Print help and exit  

Environment variables

Variable Purpose
MD_TO_PDF_MODE Fallback for --mode when the flag is omitted.
PUPPETEER_SKIP_DOWNLOAD Set to 1 to skip the bundled Chromium download.
PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH Point at a locally installed Chrome/Edge when skipping the download.
FORCE_COLOR Set to 2 or 3 to force 256/true-color ANSI.
HTTPS_PROXY / HTTP_PROXY Used by npm install and Puppeteer’s download.

Header & footer templates

The --header and --footer flags accept literal text plus these tokens:

Token Expands to
{file} The current filename (no extension).
{title} The first <h1> in the document.
{date} The build date (local time, YYYY-MM-DD).

Example:

awesome-md-to-pdf docs \
  --header "awesome-md-to-pdf  /  {title}" \
  --footer "{date}  /  page {pageNumber} of {totalPages}"

Enabling --header, --footer, or --page-numbers reserves vertical space at the page edges and breaks the default full-bleed canvas. Leave them off for the “editorial magazine” look.

--design was removed. Use --design-light and/or --design-dark.